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You might want to think again, unless you want a job in which everyone you work with gets to gossip about your weight.
This month in Redbook, “The Office” star Jenna Fisher explains what it is that makes weight gain a special kind of hell for Hollywood actresses:

In a normal job, if you gain or lose a few pounds, it’s no big deal. But in my business you have to tell someone so that the next time you go to a fitting, the clothes are the right size. It’s really embarrassing to have to say to your manager, ‘I’m now a 6 pant instead of a 4.’ Emails go out, and they cc the agents: ‘Jenna would like everyone to know that she’s now a 6 pant.’ This is why actresses obsess about their weight. It’s not a private affair.

We often talk about the excessive level of media scrutiny directed at the bodies of women in the public eye. But I’d never really realized that for those women, the scrutiny is constant. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live a life where my coworkers and my boss, in addition to photographers and gossip columnist and millions of complete strangers who happen to watch TV, would get to pass judgment on my appearance. Some might argue that it’s just the price of fame. But I’d argue it’s the price of a culture that has one strict version of female beauty, and that punishes any deviation from that vision.

New York, NY

Chloe Angyal is a journalist and scholar of popular culture from Sydney, Australia. She joined the Feministing team in 2009.
Her writing about politics and popular culture has been published in The Atlantic, The Guardian, New York magazine, Reuters, The LA Times and many other outlets in the US, Australia, UK, and France. She makes regular appearances on radio and television in the US and Australia. She has an AB in Sociology from Princeton University and a PhD in Arts and Media from the University of New South Wales. Her academic work focuses on Hollywood romantic comedies; her doctoral thesis was about how the genre depicts gender, sex, and power, and grew out of a series she wrote for Feministing, the Feministing Rom Com Review. Chloe is a Senior Facilitator at The OpEd Project and a Senior Advisor to The Harry Potter Alliance. You can read more of her writing at chloesangyal.com

Chloe Angyal is a journalist and scholar of popular culture from Sydney, Australia.

It seems as if everyone is talking about Serena Williams, whether it’s her dominance or the way she perseveres in the face of obvious sexism and racism. Regardless, for the second time in her career, she has achieved the “Serena Slam,” which is holding all four major titles simultaneously. Now, the tennis world is alive with the possibility of another tennis player winning all four major titles in the same calendar year. Despite the pressure, Williams’ personality still shines through even in her post-match interview at Wimbledon.

Going beyond the typical “it hasn’t sunk in yet” and praising her opponent, Williams’ ability to still be the goofy kid who splashed onto the tennis scene as a teenager is ...

It seems as if everyone is talking about Serena Williams, whether it’s her dominance or the way she perseveres in the face of obvious sexism and racism. Regardless, for the second time in her career, ...

Every Single Word is a new project powerfully documenting an age-old problem: the erasure and silencing of non-white characters in film. The tumblr’s creator, Dylan Marron, edits movies to remove all dialogue spoken by white people. The result is deafening silence.

And much shorter movies.

You can watch all of the (2 hour 18 minute) film American Hustle in under 53 seconds.

And (2 hour 6 minute) Her in only 40.

(1 hour 37 minute) 500 Days of Summer is 30 seconds.

And (2 hour 5 minute) Into the Woods? It has not a single speaking person of color.

Some commenters have drawn comparisons between Every Single Word and the Bechdel Test, which documents gender disparities in film. In some ways, it’s an ...

Every Single Word is a new project powerfully documenting an age-old problem: the erasure and silencing of non-white characters in film. The tumblr’s creator, Dylan Marron, edits movies to remove all dialogue spoken by white people. ...

We’re back with another installment of Fucking with Feministing! This is Feministing’s monthly sex advice column where we answer questions from you. I’m Sesali and I’ll be your resident sexpert with the help of our friends at the Center for Sex & Culture (CSC) who have partnered with us to make sure that we have smart and safe with our sexy. We’re looking forward to helping you stay informed (and hopefully have great sex, because my feminism wouldn’t be complete without it). Send your questions to sesali@feministing.com – each month we’ll pick a question to talk about here. Questions will remain anonymous. We’re so glad that you’re Fucking with Feministing!

Q: How do I overcome body image issues to feel ...

We’re back with another installment of Fucking with Feministing! This is Feministing’s monthly sex advice column where we answer questions from you. I’m Sesali and I’ll be your resident sexpert with the help of our friends ...